


Mixed Signals

by BellaMortis



Series: Trope Bingo - Round 3 [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Courtship, Humor, M/M, Misunderstandings, poor communication skills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 17:11:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1557923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellaMortis/pseuds/BellaMortis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony didn't realize that trying to date Loki was going to be so hard.  After all, alien upbringings make for a minefield of misconceptions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mixed Signals

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Anything trademarked is not mine. Just the embarrassing situations.
> 
> This was written for the Poor Communication Skills trope on my card. I remember seeing a prompt asking for Confused!Loki having no idea he was being courted by Tony somewhere - maybe AvengerKink? Anyway, I hope whoever wanted it runs across this. Everyone else, enjoy.
> 
> Also, I had no clue that people would enjoy my A/B/O subversion so much. Yay awkward humor love! I was contemplating a sequel at some point, but I guess I'll just have to work on that next. After all, I do have a square that could work. 
> 
> Anyway, on with the show...

**1\. Dinner Invitation**

 

Tony knew his timing was bad.  It usually was.  That was why he was not particularly surprised to discover he kind of had a thing for Loki during a battle.

 

The god had the habit of flip-flopping between holy menace and valuable asset, but no one could really explain why he was being more of the latter against a certain Dr. Doom for this fight.  Considering the two had been allies last time, it must have been a hell of a falling out.

 

So, Tony found himself literally fighting alongside Loki, taking out a Doombot with a well-placed repulsor blast here while his for-now-brother-in-arms managed to knock the head off another there.  It was probably a certain way that the light flashed off of the gaudy armor or something, but Tony found his eyes drawn to the lean form framed by the flowing green cape.  

 

A very nice form.  Hidden by the mask, Tony looked his fill.

 

It was because of this that he missed the third Doombot coming up from behind until it slammed into him.  Since he had already been hovering just above the rooftop, it was easy to send him flying forward.  

 

How Loki managed to both catch him and knock the thing back with a quick spell was a mystery, but it happened.  Tony found himself faceplate-to-face with an irritated god.

 

“Stark, what are you doing?” Loki snapped after releasing him.

 

“Thinking about how much I want to take you out.”  After the words were out, Tony actually flinched.  Huh.  His mind-to-mouth filter must have shorted out for a bit there.

 

Loki looked very taken aback, affront crossing his face for a split second before it smoothed back into slightly menacing blankness.  “What?” he hissed.

 

Tony blinked.  Okay.  Sure, it wasn’t his best line, but that was a rather harsh response.  “Um, I want to take you out,” he repeated, at a loss.  “Fancy dress or not, whatever you want -”  He barely got out the last word before Loki’s eyes narrowed, causing him to actually stutter to a stop.  “What?”

 

Loki’s answer was to disappear in a green flash.  

 

“What did I say?” Tony muttered to himself, staring at the spot Loki used to occupy until another Doombot forced him to jump back into the fight.

 

***

 

Back in his hideout, Loki growled as he changed out of his armor with a thought.  He had done nothing but be useful to the Avengers, even giving information vital to his ex-ally’s plans, and Stark still felt justified in threatening his life.  

 

He knew that had to be the case.  After all, why else would someone say that they wanted to take him out?  

 

Settling into the ratty couch that had come with the apartment, Loki started to evaluate risks and make contingencies for the new threat.  Even though Stark was just a mortal, he still didn’t want to underestimate him and give the man an easy victory.

 

He also meanly hoped that Stark got knocked around by Victor’s creations now that he wasn’t there to assist.

 

 

**2\. Flowers**

 

Tony wondered exactly what he had done wrong.

 

Since the last battle against Doom, Loki had yet again switched to being a pain in the Avengers’ collective ass.  Tony had a feeling that he was getting the brunt of whatever it was, though, because Loki was now personally attacking him more often.  He had even managed to get in a few good hits that made Tony need to work on the suit for hours afterward.  Not to mention the fact that the fun banter that they occasionally threw back and forth had stopped completely, instead being replaced with glares and actual harsh words on the god’s end.

 

It was while a particularly sappy movie was on during a team-bonding movie night that Tony had the realization that maybe straight-out asking out was just not done on Asgard.  Maybe he had actually insulted Loki.  Maybe there needed to be a physical token first.

 

Tony decided to go with his first thought for what was now being called Operation Bag a God, which was to send a big bouquet of sinfully red roses.  It took some effort - namely waiting for the next time Loki showed up, which happened to be opposite them yet again, and avoiding getting blasted long enough to get a nearly invisible, magic-impervious homing beacon stuck to him - but Tony was able to get the location of Loki’s current hide-out.  After making the arrangements with his favorite florist, he sat back and waited for a response.

 

***

 

Loki jumped at the strange sound that echoed through his apartment, nearly causing the book to slide from his lap.  When it happened a second time, he realized that the screeching was coming from the little box beside the door.  

 

Standing, he went over to it.  Halfway there, the noise started up again.  It was continuous this time, and he pressed the first button the moment he got there in hopes of shutting the annoying thing off.  Thankfully, it stopped, and Loki sighed in relief, starting back toward the couch.

 

He was stopped by a knock at the door.  Cursing, he stalked back to it, applying a quick glamour and summoning a dagger.  He gripped the weapon behind his back as he undid the five different locks and opened the door.

 

“Delivery for Mr. Loki,” the pimply-faced mortal on the other side said.  He was holding out a glass vase filled with the largest, choicest red roses possible.  

 

“Yes?”  Loki eyed the roses like one would eye a snake rising up from the grass.  “Who is it from?”

 

The delivery man, who was starting to look a little confused, looked down at a tag hanging from a thin red and gold ribbon.  “Um, it says they’re from Mr. Stark, sir.”

 

“Ah.”  Nodding, Loki took the offering, trying to hold it with as few fingers as possible, and shut the door in the mortal’s face.  Ignoring the muttering he heard in result, he took the roses over and dropped them in the kitchen trash can.

 

He didn’t need them anymore, after all.  The message had been loud and clear: red roses, red as blood.  After all, every child of Asgard knew the story of the war where Alfheim, not yet quite an ally to the golden realm, showered an encampment of Aesir solders with rose petals before attacking.

 

Stark wasn’t just threatening, he was calling Loki out to war.

 

Also, he knew where Loki lived.  Sighing, the god moved to fix that.

 

   

**3\. Gift**

 

Tony had been sure that he would receive some form of response from Loki.  The florist had confirmed the delivery, so he knew the god had gotten them.  

 

Still, it had been weeks since he had sent the flowers.  It had been weeks since he had even seen Loki, in battle or otherwise.  It was as though Loki had dropped off the face of the Earth.  Even Thor was noticing, which was obvious by the way he moped on his personal floor more and more often, only coming out for the occasional pizza or movie night.

 

It was when Tony was in his workshop after a drink or five tweaking a repulsor that he realized what the problem might be.  He had sent the guy flowers.  Maybe it was a macho thing, and he had actually insulted Loki even _more_.  After all, now that he thought about it, if he had for some strange reason wanted to bang Thor, he wouldn’t have led with flowers straight off the bat.  

 

So, why did he do that with possibly the most touchy Asgardian in existence?

 

Switching gears was easy, especially when he already thought he knew Loki well enough to get him the perfect gift.  He was determined to actually make it thoughtful, which Tony could admit he wasn’t good at when it came to people.  After sobering up, he went on the hunt, scouring through the internet to find something that screamed Loki.

 

He found it in place that was actually pretty close.  The website mentioned that they even did custom orders.

 

So, after placing one at the physical site and waiting for a while, Tony had in his hands a rather ornate dagger, complete with gold accents, actual emeralds, and intricate designs that looked fairly close to some of the ones that he had seen on Loki’s armor.  Not looking for any more ways to insult the god, Tony even made sure the blade was battle-ready and well-sharpened, making it deadly as well as beautiful.  

 

So, now that he had it, he needed to actually give it.  He found this harder than he had expected, since Loki had yet again moved base, which he found out when he received the package back as undeliverable.  With no other choice, Tony waited for Loki to show his face again.  

 

When Loki did so, it was in a spectacular fashion, filled with more explosions and mayhem than he had accomplished since, well, his first arrival.  It didn’t help that he had friends, namely a freshly reacquired (and visibly more suspicious) Dr. Doom, a woman who dressed in even more green than Loki, and the woman’s pet barbarian.  Tony found out that the woman was named the Enchantress, and he saw why when she managed to get close enough to Thor.

 

Still, the Avengers managed to save the day, even if it was a clusterfuck where Thor temporarily went a little goo-goo eyed and they didn’t even get to nab any bad guys.

 

Tony probably felt the most successful, though, considering the three beacons he had managed to land on Loki before the god disappeared from the field.

 

He felt positively victorious as he wrote the new address they revealed on the package.

 

***

 

Loki was shocked when there was a knock at the door of his new apartment.  Cautiously, he did his usual glamor and summoning of a dagger before undoing the seven locks - two more this time for good measure - and opening it.

 

It was yet another delivery person, this time an older woman dressed all in brown who scowled.  With a rusty voice, she said, “Are you Mr. Loki.”

 

He felt his stomach drop.  Oh, no.  Not again.  “Yes?”

 

“Delivery for you.”  She placed a strange pad on top of the box she was carrying and held out a pen.  “Sign here.”

 

After staring for a moment with a raised eyebrow, Loki took the pen and scribbled across the screen of the pad, noting that his name did appear across it despite not being in ink.  He was contemplating how odd it was when the box was shoved in his hand.  The woman gave an insincere,  “Have a nice day,” before turning and heading back down the hallway.

 

Loki sighed and took the box back in, dropping the glamor and locking the door back up.  He looked down at it, noticing that the sender and return address were very, very familiar.  Since he already had it out, he used the dagger to cut open the box, dreading what he would find.

 

When he saw the ornate dagger, his insides turned to ice.  Growling, he pulled it from the protective sheath and noted that it was sharp.

 

An enemy buying him a weapon, as though he couldn’t arm himself.  This was more insult than he could bear, even if the dagger was a rather pretty one.  Fingering the linework, he considered what to do.  He knew one thing: if he was to challenge Stark to combat, he wished to have Thor neutral, if not on his side.

 

Deciding, he clutched the dagger and went to find the other god.

 

 

**4\. Realization**

 

Loki teleported straight into Thor’s personal chambers in Stark’s tower, and was slightly gratified when Thor actually startled at his sudden appearance.  The blonde god was lounging in front of a rather large screen television, clad only in linen tunic and pants, bare feet up on the coffee table.  

 

“Loki,” Thor said flatly, sitting up.  “Why are you here?”

 

In answer, Loki threw the sheathed dagger down onto the table where Thor’s feet had been.  “I have come to ask that you honor familial bonds and support me in my challenge against Stark.”

 

Thor’s eyebrows practically rose to his hairline.  “You wish to challenge Tony Stark?  Why?”

 

“He has offered me too much insult to let it slide.”

 

Thor’s face scrunched up in confusion.  “How did he insult you?  I had no idea that he had even been in contact with you.”

 

Loki actually started pacing in agitation.  How to make his thick brother understand?  “When I had joined you in battle against Von Doom, he threatened me.”

 

The blonde eyebrows went up again.  “Tony Stark threatened you?”  His voice was flat again, which was disbelieving in Thor-speak.

 

It only frustrated Loki further.  “The man threatened to take me out.”

 

Thor blinked.  “Uh-huh.”

 

Loki clutched his hands to keep from flailing them.  “And then he sent me red roses.   _Red roses_ , Thor!”  After all, he had to know Aesir battle history as well as Loki.  It had been the only history that he had seemed to pay attention to.

 

Thor nodded, obviously understanding from the recognition that lit up his eyes.  He looked down at the weapon on his table, reaching out a hand to slide slide his fingers over the gilded hilt.  “And what does the dagger have to do with it?”

 

“Stark obviously does not believe me able to procure my own weapon for combat.”

 

Thor hummed noncommittally, picking up the dagger and drawing it from the sheath.  His eyes followed the linework, and he tested the edge before sliding it back home.

 

To Loki’s frustration, Thor looked up at him with an amused grin.  “What?” he snarled.

 

“Brother, I don’t believe that Stark is challenging you.”  Thor chuckled.

 

It was Loki’s turn to be confused.  “Why?  What else would he be doing?”

 

Thor held out the dagger, laughter still in his blue eyes.  “I know you have knowledge of the Midgardian internet.  May I suggest you look up the mortal courting rituals.”

 

“Courting rituals?”  Loki repeated, taking the weapon as his eyes widened.

 

Thor chuckled again and reached for a device that Loki recognized as a tablet.  “On second thought, let me show you, brother.”

 

“Stop calling me brother,” Loki grumbled.

 

“You were the one trying to call upon familial bonds earlier,” Thor said wryly, patting the cushion beside him.

 

Rolling his eyes, Loki sat.

 

 

***

 

When the gift received no response from Loki within a week, Tony decided it was time to give up.  After all, he knew better than to continue trying.  It was making him seem like he was pining for the unpredictable, psychopathic, occasionally helpful, and extremely attractive god.

 

Now, Loki was hot, but was he _that_ hot?

 

Sighing, he scrapped Operation Bag a God with a sigh and another drink, trying not to let the disappointment get him down.

 

 

**5\. Acceptance**

 

For Tony, it had been a rather uneventful few days.  No one had tried to attack the city, Pepper hadn’t had any business for him to conduct, and there was a refreshing lack of lab explosions.  As such, he actually managed to get a full night of sleep.  

 

It was probably a good thing, considering the thing he found in the kitchen on his way to the coffee maker.

 

There was the _severed head_ of some strange creature on the island counter.  It was huge enough to cover the entirety of the giant silver platter it sat on and covered with thick scaly green skin, two large antlers curling up from the brow.  There was no blood, thankfully, but the wide, tooth-filled mouth looked as though it was pulled into a morbid grin.

 

“Fuck!” Tony’s hand flew to his chest, resting over his wildly beating heart as he sagged against the nearest island chair.  Who could do this?  Who _would_ do this?  

 

There was an envelope resting against what could be the chin.  Tony could see that his name was written on it in scrawling green ink.

 

Straightening, Tony edged closer and, with a wary glance at the head, grabbed it.  Ripping it open, his eyes widened as he read the note inside.

 

_Anthony Stark,_

_The head you see before you is that of a Bilgesnipe, a traditional Asgardian courting gift. As such, I wish you to know that I accept your suit.  Meet me tonight for dinner at Eleven Madison Park restaurant, 7:30 p.m.  Dress nice._

 

_L._

 

Tony looked over his, um, interesting gift, wondering exactly what he was getting himself into.

 

Either way, as he later stood in the closet agonizing over which suit to wear, he knew was determined to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Continued in ["A Friend, Indeed"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1617854).


End file.
